I’m sorry that it’s taken so long to get back to my moving story.  I’ve been busy trying to unpack, keep our lives going, and get back into our school routine (which could be a different blog post because I’ve noticed some things have changed in the routine since moving).

So moving day arrives………….We have friends lined up to help us move, and a box of VooDoo Doughnuts and a fresh pot of coffee ready (to keep them happy as our friends).

The boy spent a lot of time in and around the U-Haul, not wanting to miss out riding in one.  I think that to him, this was the equivalent of meeting a celebrity!

I had a few bags of things that I had bought to decorate the new kitchen with, and I really felt the need to get those new coffee themed place-mats out.  A friend has referred to this as “nesting” and they were right.  I was anxious to nest before the boxes were unpacked!

This was my husband’s version of “nesting”.  The tv needed to be set up and running.  I would agree on this one.  A tv sometimes is nice background noise when working.  We don’t have cable, so we also had to have some favorite DVD’s on hand.  The original plan was to have some movies to watch that dealt with the moving process.   However by time time of the move, we weren’t too choosy (and yes, we chose to watch some “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.  Always good!).

Valentine’s Day also fell at the tail end of the moving weekend.  Knowing that this was going to happen, I shopped a few weeks earlier and had everything prepared so this “holiday” would still be celebrated.   It’s also rather nice after a big move, to get some new things for new rooms.  The kids received lot’s of chocolates, and new books (which was nice for them since their books were still packed and in storage) and trinkets.

French toast for breakfast!  I didn’t have anything to cut them into the shape of hearts, but I don’t think that my family cared.  French toast is always tasty, especially when covered in sugar!

My husband didn’t forget Valentine’s Day either.  The card was appropriate since he’s very much into karaoke these days……..

For an afternoon snack, I bought a couple of red velvet cupcakes for the kids.  I would have made them, however, my baking pans were still packed and I didn’t know where they were.  It’s a good thing too, because I really didn’t need extra cupcakes tempting me along with all of the chocolate candy that was still available in the house 🙂

So since Valentine’s Day, this has been the reality that I’ve been faced with.  We’ve been figuring out where to put things and what stays and what goes.   Fortunately, this time, we have in house, able-bodied helpers to help move some of this stuff around (they aren’t as excited as their dad and I are about that fact though, lol).

Ec

Well, in reality, it came and went…………nearly a week ago.

But I thought I’d recap the events, just not all in one post.

Last Friday

We signed the papers, got the keys to the house, and rented a U-Haul.  I would never, ever want to work at a U-Haul center.  Those trucks were parked sooooo close together, and I was amazed that the employees could drive them out onto the lot without scratching the trucks on either side.
They follow the “6-inch rule” very well!

We took the U-Haul home, much to our son’s delight (he had been talking about U-Haul’s and drawing pictures of them for at least a week, so he was thrilled to see a “real life” one in our driveway.  We loaded up the couches and dining room furniture and as many boxes and containers as the truck would hold, and took them to the new house.  As you can see, the boy is resting in the new living room, tired from all of the excitement (and possibly because it was after 10PM).

Our new dining area, which we fully intend to eat all of our meals in (the rest of the house has carpet, and I’d like to avoid as much food spillage as possible. There is definitely more room to get around.   Breathing a sigh of relief!

Take a look at those shelves!  I’ve never had a cupboard with shelves that swung out.  How convenient!

So that was Friday………..

I’m still unpacking and we still have a storage unit to empty out, but I will try to post more later.

Elizabeth

We aren’t really tried and true sports fans.  We don’t follow really any sporting events on tv or on the radio.  However, when the Ducks are playing, we do pay a bit more attention to how their teams are doing.  We had the opportunity to buy tickets for the first Lady Ducks basketball game (vs. the OSU Beavers) at the new Matthew Knight Arena.  The tickets were only $2 each, so for a family of 4, that was a pretty good deal for entertainment.

Because it was a sold out game, we decided that we’d avoid the trouble of trying to find parking near the arena, and take our town’s rapid transit system.

What we didn’t know was that our RTS, which runs every ten minutes during the week, only runs every 30 minutes on the weekends.  So when the bus came, a crowd of people crammed onto the bus and it sped off, and we thought “Oh, it’ll be here in a few minutes.    The picture above is of my son, waiting too long for the bus.

This is just my attempt at an “artsy” pic while we were waiting for the bus.  My son also informed me that he was “done having pictures taken”.  Well it’s not of his face, and he didn’t have to pose, so he has nothing to worry about.

My daughter would have been so bored without her phone and Facebook!  (My husband and I were on our phones with Facebook too!)

The cool new score board in the middle of the arena!

Dear Daughter sitting next to her friend and having a fun conversation!  I love her smile!

Occasionally, there would be a sign on the scoreboard that read “MAKE NOISE”, which my son loved!  Permission to make noise is a great thing for him.   So this is the “Noise Meter” to let us know how loud we were.  Dear son, enjoyed making noise for a short time and then he was done, and he was ready for everyone else to be done as well.

We had some popcorn of course.  Once it was all consumed, my husband put the bucket on our son’s head, hoping that it would attract the attention of the camera guys go get him on the scoreboard screen.  It didn’t, but hey, we tried!

I hope that everyone had a safe & happy new year’s celebration!

I asked what everyone wanted for NYE snacks and Heather asked for Oreos and Nutter Butters.  To her, that would be adequate.  We also bought a tray of cut veggies, which we wound up not eating.   In the past, we’ve had things for dipping into a fondue, however, since Kevin has switched to a vegan diet, we didn’t do that.  On top of that, I wound up coming down with a fever and napping for 3 hours in the late afternoon, and that necessitated just getting a pizza.

Just a little humor from our New Year’s Eve.  We had some Martinelli’s sparkling apple-grape juice to ring in the new year with.  However, my son refused to have any, because it’s an “alcohol wanna-be” and he’s planning to never drink alcohol (Momma has such a good boy!).

Here’s to a happy & healthy new year, and praying for good things!

Lp

The flu bug is back again.  Different symptoms than the ones we had last month, but once again, a holiday where we’ll truly be relaxing and hanging out at home.  It’s the kind of bad feeling that makes a grown adult want their mama.  Just to be there.

Now sick parents don’t necessarily get the rest that they crave, because the house and kids won’t take care of themselves………….or will they?  My kids are old enough to fix their own lunches, pick up their own things and fold laundry.  Mine are still able to do that, and then like their mother, rest between chores (except my son, who despite a sore throat, desperately wants to go somewhere today).  I had planned to go out shopping for New Years treats for tonight, however, since I’d rather snuggle in a blanket and nap, and my husband isn’t quite in the place at the moment, he offered to do that shopping for me and I really appreciate it.

This New Years Eve could very well see our kids staying up late and their parents already asleep.

Happy New Year!

Ep

And I guess I should get caught up before the new year starts.

So, a recap of the past month……….

I celebrated my 42nd birthday.  The day was relaxing.  I was served breakfast in bed by my husband and he did a great job with the gifts (including a pedicure, a 60 minute massage, and a Josh Groban CD)!

My daughter was in a play for our church’s dessert theater.  She didn’t have a speaking part, but she gave a very good performance looking sad and forlorn.  She called it her “Chad Dylan Cooper” look (anyone who watches “Sonny With a Chance” will know who that is).

Then along comes Christmas.  The drum above was an ornament that I found to give to my husband (He really liked it!).  Every year, I give my husband and kids each and ornament (which is something that my grandmother  did for her family for as long as I can remember).

On Christmas Eve, we let the kids open on present.  Usually, it’s a game or a movie or both.  This year, we brought home a Wii!  We had talked about it for the past few years (since we bought a Game Cube).  They sort of guessed what it was, and were thrilled when they opened the present.  We let Heather set it up all on her own, and before we knew it, both kids were playing games together (not something that happens often).

And finally, the last event of the year.  My friend had taken her daughters to get the cartilage of their ears pierced a couple of weeks ago.  Heather had wanted to get hers done after that.  So a few days after Christmas, she and I drove to the mall and had a  Mother/Daughter cartilage piercing.  She’s pretty pleased with it.  I think it’s fun to have.  I don’t intend to get a lot of piercings.  This one is enough.  It didn’t hurt that much which was good.  I was a little nervous, about the same kind of nervousness that one has when going to get blood drawn.  But it was quick and not that bad.  Heather was happy that she got this one, but that she also wasn’t going to do it again.   The ears are a tad sore and only really noticeable when we accidentally bump them while pulling our hair back behind our ears, or rolling over on them when we’re sleeping.

Start the new year with a new hole in your ear!

Happy New Year,
Ep

Well it was another day to just stay home.  Kevin’s feeling a bit better (not totally well, but he’s further ahead in this bug than I am), so he took care of me today.   He bought me a magazine, rubbed my feet, and made dinner.  So today, I was able to really rest.

My son however, is feeling just dandy, and was talking or making his noises all day long and spinning in circles.  Basically back to normal.   I’m still too tired to deal with his “normal”.  Hopefully, tomorrow I will be.

I did venture out to the grocery store yesterday.  It wasn’t too bad, however, it did wear me out and when I came home, I was ready to lay down.  I had sent a text to Kevin when I was ready to leave the store and by the time I arrived at home, he had the kids ready to come out and unload the car for me and then had them put the groceries away.  Which was sooooo nice.   He then, ventured out and picked up dinner for us.  All this, and he’s still sick too.

The ones who are feeling better and have the energy, yet still coughing, are the kids.  They’ve been having a marathon of sorts of their favorite shows.

It looks like our house may be selling.  We have an offer.  It’s looking like a possibility.  So we’re starting to look for a place to move to.

So, today is the second day of mandatory rest.  I did venture out to Weight Watchers but didn’t stay for the meeting.  I did have a favorable weigh in, so that was a perk in my day.

Today, I either have no voice, or when I do have one, I sound like a barking seal.  At some point today, I had to answer a question that my son asked and then he asked, “Why did you say that so softly?”.  I answered that I couldn’t answer loudly.

So for now, I’m camped out on the couch watching “You’ve Got Mail” (my son came out after his room time, saw what I was watching and asked, “Have we passed the swearing yet?”)

but the bug that has been making my family sick, finally found me.  I went to bed with a slight heavy feeling in my chest.  I woke up in the wee hours this morning and that slight heaviness was heavier and I had a sore throat.  So now, I am experiencing what every one else is.   So I’m already thinking about what I need to do to in order for me to rest.

1. It is actually a grocery shopping weekend, and I do need to go to the store, but this time it’ll be for  easily prepared foods and paper plates.  My husband still isn’t feeling that great (these things seem to hit the adults much harder) and he won’t feel like producing big meals.  So easy meals are the way to go.   Another thing I need to get are paper plates. Normally my son is in charge of the dishes, but he’s been sick too, and even though he’s feeling better, I don’t feel like arguing with him about returning to that job right now.

2. I need to weigh in at Weight Watchers.  This happens to be the week that they implement their new plan and under normal circumstances, I’d stay for the meeting.  But I’ll just weigh in tomorrow and then when I’m feeling better, I’ll go to the “get started” or “refresher course” meetings that happen right after a regular one.  I just don’t want to sit in a room full of people hacking and coughing and “spreading the cheer”.

3.  Pick out some DVD’s to watch, make some tea, grab a box of tissues and hang out in my room and not do anything.